A holiday in COVID-19 times

I took a week off after the end of the semester, and for the second time only in this pandemic, we went on an overnight trip, staying 5 days in Mindo (in the cloud forest) at 2.5 hours from Quito. We rented an isolated cabin on a large property with swimming pool and sauna, and spent some lovely relaxing days there. We also went to the butterfly gardens, went to watch birds, went tubing, and went to have an ice cream twice. We did less than we would do in non-pandemic circumstances, but it didn’t make this holiday feel much different from a real holiday. The pool and the sauna did their magic for all of us.

I slept a lot in this week, and rested, and realized that the past semester had been just too much. I need to take a few things off of my plate, and hope that by keeping my Tuesdays and Thursdays without meetings, I’ll be able to separate different tasks better – but I already see that some appointments have crept on those days, and that the summer semester is very short anyway. It’s up to myself to start piling less work onto myself, after all.

I did not disable my email from my phone – and I’m glad I didn’t, as by surprise my assigned time for getting my first jab came by email. That did mean driving back and forth in the middle of our holiday to get the shot, and passing a night to sweat out my reaction. I’ve not posted a photograph or anything of this good news, as I’m trying to avoid bringing up the subject with my family back home, who would probably refuse to meet me if they find out I trust science. I do look forward to being fully protected and being able to resume some activities. A massage is very high on the wishlist for my geriatric millennial bones.